fletcher



1?'.y F. FLETCHER.

No Model.)

GUN MOUNTING.

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y P. BPLETCHBR.

GUN MOUNTING.

No. 499,539. Patentedune 13.1893.

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P. BIPLTCHER.

GUN MOUNTING.

Patented Jne 13,1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. l

FRANK F. FLETCHER, OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY.

GUN-MQUNTING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,530, dated June 13, 1893.

Application filed November 17,1892'. Serial No. 452,271. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.-

le it known that I, FRANK F. FLETCHER, a l1.eutenant in the United States Navy, aud a c1t1zen of the United States, stationed at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have in-v vented certain new andnseful'Improvement-s 1n Gun-Mountings and Methods of Framing the Same; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in gun carriages which are mounted. upon a 'revolving base, and to improvements in .the means of training the gun carriage and guns to the right o1 left and for adjusting the said train by sights fixed to the gun carriage. Reference is had to the'accompanying draw-l ings, in which the saine parts are indicated b y the saine letters throughout the several views.

Figure 1 represents a vertical, longitudinal section through the pivot of the improved gun mount, and represents the carriage in section and one of the two guns in elevation. Fig. 2 represents a plan view of one of the guns, and a section of the mount for the other gun along the broken line y y of Fig. 3. Fig. 3, represents a rear elevation of one of the guns and of half of the mount, and a'vert-ical section through the trunnions of the other gun and the mount. Fig. 4 represents a vertical section through the worm wheel and worm for training the guns. I

A represents the platform or support for the gun mount secured to the deck of the ship vided on its npperside with or the gun platformV by the flange a, and proan annular groove a', and a hollow cylindrical portion a2 for the cone rollers C, and the cup springs A2 and A3 and plate A. Mounted o nthese rollers C is the gu-n carriage B, also provided with an annular groove b to serve as a guide for the said cone rollers C. The center .of this carriage is provided with a female screw b', into which the screw A4 is fitted. This screw A4 bears down on `the plate A' which rests on the cup springs' A2 and A3 and by adjusting the tension on these springs by means of the screw A4, the weight of the carriage and guns is yto a certain extent taken oft' ofthe 'cone rollers C, and put uponthe central pivot A4 thereby ets B' von each side of each gun, which b rackp ets are tted at B2-to inclose the trunnions D', of the rocking slide D in which-the gun recoils in the line of fire.

its connections is well known in the art and gust 11, 1 891. I The gun E is-provided with is rigidly connected tothe rocking slide.

means of a hand wheel K mounted ona shaft` 7.: which also carries-the worm K' meshing in The saidpinion engages Z with a pinion L.

portion of the in a rack M fixed on the rear rocking slide D.

The two guns are trained by means of the circular rack N rigidly attached to the upper side of `the platform A; in this rack N the pinion l engages, the said pinion being on the same shaft p with the miter gearP' driven bythe lniter gearQ on the shaft q, set trans versely in the carriage B. O11 this shaft q, the worm wheel Q isA revolublyxnouuted,but it is normally held between friction-disks q', one of which is rigidly attached to the shaft and the other has a longitudinal motion but' wheel Q being compressed between .the said friction' disks by means of the nut qtand screw qs. The worrnR mounted on the shaft r, meshes in the worm wheel Q', and is driven shaft is connected to the shaft 7' by the coupling r', as shown in Figl.v The revolution of the shaft r turns the worm R, worm wheel R',

shaft q, miter gears Q` and P', vertical shaft diminishing the friction on the roller bearj The constructionof the rocking slide and.:

is shown in my Patent No. 457,641, dated Au a trunnion band E'and hydraulic-cylinder F, having the p piston H attached to the piston rod H' which The elevation of each gun is adjusted 4by p and pinion P meshing in the rack N, thus the worm wheel L mounted on the same shaft l is held against turning on the shaft, the wormv by the electric motor R', whosearmature training the gun' to the right or left, acco'rd- A ing to the direction in which the shaft' r is revolved.'

R2 represents a switch box 4of lany desired oigvgcll known construction, and R3 -repre- 'sents a hand `ifsjheel for puttingthe switch into operation, the hand wheel and switch being preferably so arranged that the direction in which ,they are turned. is that in which the -muzzleof the gun is moved by the electric motor R.

' v Si'nceboth guns arel .mounted at fired there will be' a-tendency ofv the entire carriage to' swing around in' thedirection of the recoil; this might cause injury to `the teeth of the Worm wheel Q or the Worm R'or other parte of the mechanism for revolving the guncarriage, were there not some provisas either gun recoils,4the worm Wheel Q slips ion made for the said vworm Wheelto slip about its axis. l By meansaof the arrangement hereinbefore described, and shown in Fig. 4C,

between the friction disks q and soj'acts asa brakeupon the continued'motion of the car-- riage. This braking effect isalso useful if the carriage or either' of 'the'guns be `struck by a projectile.v

lt will be evident that by shifting the friction disks or throwing the worm Wheel Q out of action abend-crank Q2 shownin-dotted .lines in Fig.' 3 -maybe 'used to turn the 'miter' gears Q and P and the-'pinion l?, and thus to -train the carriage in lien ofthe 'el`ectrit-r.nio'-l 35.A I I tor hereinbefore described.

Each of the guns is'provided nary sights S and-Sf'by'fwhichthe said-:gun

right or left, and by'keepingthesightsSand Siin line with the target, the axis of each maybe pointed 4in the usual Way, if desired; "in addition' to Athese sights, a front sight $3-- and a rear sight Si mounted in a fsig-hti box, s4 are 'attached to the carriageV for keeping the guns trained in the right direction'. These sights are in a vertical plane parallel 4to the vertical planespassing `through the axis of the bore of each of 'the guns.. Thefront sight- S3 is preferably provided with averticalwire sa'nd' the rear sight S4 is preferably provided with the ordinary .notch as shown in Fig. 3.3 When the two guns are .trained on the t'arget, the vertical Wire, the base of ftheyn'otch', andthetarget should be in the sameverticai plane.'

Elevation .ently to each 'gum by nieanso its own hand wheel K, the gnnbeing'sighted for elevation mains seated on the seat :'nno'unied on the .frame T whichis carriedbg` andf-Inoves'laterallywith thev gun carriage. By nneansfof,c

the hand Wheel-R3 he-trainsthegunto the opposite' sides of thece'ntral pivot, when vone, gun is is' preferablygiven.v indeI-iendleasen gun isA at all times trained in thelproper vertical plane; just before ring, another member oi the guns crevsgby means of the hand Wheel K, adjusts the elevation of the gun until the sights S and S bear on the target, when the gun is fired. ly this means the functions of elevating and training the gun the gun is greatly facilitated'and greater accuracy obtained. lt will be obvious that this method of .sighting guns may be adopted Where guns are mounted singly, as is ordinarily the practice; the gun then being pro- .gun itself, or on the rocking slide, foradjustingthe elevation,l and another set of sights Amountedonthe gun carriage independent of the gun for adjusting the lateral train.

It will be seen that the herein described pactness inthe battery, and since manyof the operative parts are common to both of the guns, decreases weight and expense. Where gun shields are necessary a very small increase'in the size ot the shields `will. cover bothguns.

would readily suggest themselves to any one skilled in the art which might be used with- 1.111 a gunmounting, the combination,

with a pivoted gnnfcarrage, of thetrainingtical't'eeth on the interior face'thereof, said rackbeing rigidly attached to the pivot-stand ,onring-platform, of a cogwheel meshing with the said rack, a Vertical shaft'journaled in the ggun-carria'gge and carrying the said cog-wheel at one end and a miter" gear at the otheiya second miter gear on a shaft journaled'across the carriage engaging 'the rst V idly held on the said transverse shaft, a worm .engaging the said Worm-wheel,` and an elecsubstr,

l "2. lnv .a gun-mounting, the combination .with a pivoted gun carriage of the training l gear consisting of .thecircular rack N secured to' the pivot'stand, the *pinionl 'meshing 'in 'said rack, the shafts p and'q and xniter gears Irigidly mounted on the shaft q, the worm-R i theswitch, substantially as a'nd foi" the vpurv'poses described.; l

3.- In-a gun lnouhntin'gthe' combination g'wth -apivoted gun carriagel of thetraining gear consisting .ofthe circular 4rackltslse'cured gears' and Q', the Worm. `wheel -QV v'I "evolulsly mounted on-theshaft q,{ the frictiondisks q are separated, and the operation of sighting r vided with one set o sights mounted on theA method of mounting guns insures great coin-- vlt will be obvious that many modifications out departing from the spirit of my invenmiter gear, a Worm Wheel firmly but notV rigtric motor in operativo connection therewith,

)Tally as and for the purposes 'de- 1P .and Q, the worm .Wheel Q iirmly but not' to-the 'pivot stand, the pinion P meshing in vsaid- 'rack, v the shafts "-p`]' and c and miterl gear consisting of a circular rack h avingver- IOS IIO

'edv on the shaft 1' and engaging in said worm wheel; and the electric motor R having its` armature shaft connected to said shaft 1', substantially as and for the purposes described.

' `In testimony whereof I aix signature in presence of two witnesses.

' FRANK F, FLETCHER.

Witnesses: Y JOHN C. WILSON, PERCY C. BOWEN. 

